This invention relates to air conditioning. In one aspect, this invention relates to the operation of air conditioning condensers.
Most air conditioning systems use freon as the refrigerant. Most systems include an external air cooled unit connected to an internal air handling unit. The internal unit contains an evaporator coil. This evaporator/air handling unit is normally placed in the attic of residential homes. The external air cooled unit generally includes a refrigerant compressor which takes suction on the evaporator unit. The compressor compresses the refrigerant to a high discharge pressure. The refrigerant then enters an air cooled condenser where hot refrigerant gas is cooled and condensed to a liquid. The condenser is generally composed of coils that are placed in the outside walls of the housing containing the compressor. The condenser is constructed similar to the radiator of a car. Outside air is drawn over the coils by an electrically driven fan. The compressor is also electrically driven.
Power consumption is significantly impacted by outside temperatures. At higher temperatures, higher pressure is required to condense the refrigerant and the compressor must work harder. This is true regardless of the setting of the inside thermostat. A reduction in the temperature of the air passing over the condenser coil would reduce power consumption and thus would be very desirable.